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VOLUME 14, ISSUE 11
Snapshots
News briefing/
RESOURCES
A Harvard dean steps
down after a scandal; majors
make a big difference
in future salaries; an
association recommends
better communication
between faculty, governing
boards; and more. Page 2
policies & procedures
If guns are allowed on
your campus, consider
offering students a place to
store them safely while they
attend class. Page 8
LAWSUITS & RULINGS
FACULTY: A faculty member was fired because he
engaged in sexual activities
with students, not because of
his disability. Page 9
JULY 2013
Cover Story
Create an effective assessment process
to bring benefits to your institution
Assessment is not an option in higher education. Administrators oversee efforts to evaluate programs, student engagement,
facilities, and just about every other comPut assessment
ponent of the institution.
to work
The amount of assessment that’s reAssessment can help
quired by accrediting agencies can be
your
institution in many
overwhelming. But if you have a good plan
ways in its quest for conin place to accomplish it, your institution
tinuous improvement.
can reap the benefits of having data that See page 5.
can be used in making decisions about
curricula, budget allocations and much more.
Four members of Dean & Provost’s advisory board participated in a conference call to discuss how their institutions manage
assessment. Try their tips and best practices to get the most out
of your institution’s assessment efforts.
And although assessment is expensive and time-consuming,
find out how it can save your institution money and time in the
long run. Full story, see pages 4–5.
Highlights
ACADEMIC AFFAIRS:
An institution was justified
in dismissing a student who
did not follow its rule that
required continuous enrollment. Page 10
Avoid leadership tragedies like Rutgers’ athletics issues
FREE SPEECH: A
dismissed student had the
right to protest over student
fees. Page 11
The model for online education at Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania is based on
traditional educational theory. Carlie I. Nicastro explains how the system guarantees
consistency and quality in the online offerings.
Pages 6–7
DISABILITY: Review
a roundup of recent court
cases. Page 11
Joyce Blackwell, provost at Bennett College in North Carolina, had supportive mentors
throughout her career. In turn, she helps develop leaders on her campus and through
an association for chief academic officers.
Page 12
When the men’s basketball coach at Rutgers University was fired for abusing players,
the situation revealed failures in the institution’s governance system, according to
Attorney Allan L. Shackelford. Learn how to avoid such problems.
Page 3
Incorporate traditional education in online courses
Develop future leaders by sharing your skills
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company • All rights reserved
View this newsletter online at wileyonlinelibrary.com • DOI: 10.1002/dap.20067
2
Dean & Provost
News Briefing/Resources
Get published
in Dean & Provost
For Dean & Provost writers’
guidelines, contact the editor at
jhope@wiley.com. ■
Dean steps down
after email scandal
Treating members of the campus community fairly is important
to an academic administrator’s
success.
Evelynn M. Hammonds announced plans to step down as
dean of Harvard College several
months after news broke that she
had searched the email accounts
of resident deans. She wanted to
find out who leaked information
about a cheating scandal.
Hammonds said the email controversy was not a factor in her
stepping down. ■
Majors matter
for future earnings
With students taking on increasing debt loads, how much
they can expect to earn later is
an important question.
A new report from the Center
Higher Education Publications
from Jossey-Bass/Wiley
• Enrollment Management Report
• FERPA Bulletin for Higher Education
Professionals
• Recruiting & Retaining Adult Learners
• Disability Compliance for Higher
Education
• Student Affairs Today
• Campus Legal Advisor
• Assessment Update
• The Department Chair
• The Successful Registrar
• College Athletics and the Law
• Campus Security Report
For information about any of these
publications, call Customer Service
at 888.378.2537.
on Education and the Workforce
at Georgetown University’s Public
Policy Institute reveals that it pays
to earn any degree, but the choice
of major makes a big difference in
the likelihood of employment and
in the amount graduates earn.
Recent graduates in nursing
and teaching had the lowest unemployment rates, and engineering majors earned the highest
starting salaries.
To download Hard Times: College
Majors, Unemployment and Earnings, go to http://cew.georgetown
.edu/unemployment2013. ■
Report provides
educational snapshot
National statistics can help you
understand higher education more
fully and enable you to benchmark
your institution’s success.
The National Center for Education Statistics released The Condition of Education 2013, which
includes statistics on educational
attainment, salary by education
level, and more.
For example, the report reveals
that young adults with a bachelor’s degree earn nearly twice
as much as those who have not
graduated from college.
You can r eview the full
report at http://nces.ed.gov/
pubs2013/2013037.pdf. ■
Accreditor to determine
U Phoenix status
When accreditation review
teams visit, you don’t want them
to leave with concerns.
The board of trustees of the
Higher Learning Commission of
the North Central Association of
Colleges and Schools is scheduled
to determine whether to reaccredit
the University of Phoenix.
One team that visited recommended probation and a second
suggested the institution be
placed on notice. ■
Faculty, boards
need communication
Good governance for your institution requires communication
among stakeholders.
A new report from the American Association of University
Professors recommends direct
communication between governing boards and faculty members.
To review the recommendations and best practices, go to
www.aaup.org/report/facultycommunication-governing-boardsbest-practices. ■
Dean & Provost
Publisher:
Sue Lewis
Executive Editor:
Robert Rosenberg, Ph.D.
Editorial Director:
Paula P. Willits, Ed.D.
Editor:
Joan Hope, Ph.D.
Legal Editor:
Aileen Gelpi, Esq.
If you have a question,
comment or suggestion,
please contact
Editor Joan Hope at
(561)748-5094 or
email jhope@wiley.com.
Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
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Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under
Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission
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This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information regarding the subject
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in rendering legal counsel or other professional service. If legal advice is required, the service of a
competent professional should be sought.
July 2013
DOI: 10.1002/dap
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
Dean & Provost
Of Counsel
3
Rutgers’ athletics problems resulted from governance failures
By Allan L. Shackelford
Many of us were transfixed by the recently uninstitution, consider these action steps:
folding events at Rutgers University after a video
➢➢ Implement an institutional strategic plan.
was leaked of Mike Rice, the head men’s basketball
Ensure that it is a living document with broad-based
coach, physically and verbally abusing his players.
input and ownership. Align institutional operations
Athletics Director Tim Pernetti fired Rice and then
with strategic goals and an assessment plan.
resigned a week later.
➢➢ Adopt risk-management
To most reporters, this was a
measures. Integrate institutional
About the author
story about the broken culture of
or enterprise-wide risk manageAllan
L. Shackelford is an attorney
big-time college sports. But I believe
ment, not only into the strategic
and a higher education consultant
the story is much bigger than that.
planning process, but also into daywho presents to national audiences
The Rutgers situation parallels
to-day, unit-level management.
on various topics. Contact him at
the chain of events we’ve seen at
➢➢ Assess governance strucallanshackelford@yahoo.com. ■
other major institutions. Something
ture. Examine the composition,
horrific happened that snowballed
transparency and effectiveness of
into a public relations and reputational nightmare:
your institution’s governance structure and whether
1. When Rice’s abusive behaviors were first
board members are held to accountability standards.
reported, those responsible for oversight ignored
In many instances, the only board members “really
common-sense responses.
in-the-know” are those on the executive committee.
2. Certain governing board members were in the
➢➢ Speak truthfully. Make public statements in
know but did not blow the whistle.
response to a crisis situation that are clear, trans3. When the story became public, the same adparent and supported by facts. When integrity is at
ministrators who made bad decisions also made up
stake, there is only one chance to get it right.
excuses for why they did not appropriately respond.
➢➢ Be proactive to identify problems. Imple4. The same people used carefully crafted and
ment strategies to ensure that there are not serithoroughly vetted statements to try to persuade the
ous, undiscovered problems on your campus. For
public that their mistakes should be forgiven.
several years, the IRS has advocated that nonprofit
5. The institution’s credit rating faced downgrading.
organizations implement whistleblower procedures.
At Rutgers, we also witnessed what many viewed as
Implement such protocols across the institution and
the president’s disingenuous description of how John
involve all students, including student-athletes. ConWolf, the university’s general counsel who agreed to
sider requiring that such complaints be immediately
resign after recommending Rice be only suspended,
reported to a governing board committee.
was being punished for his mistakes. And all those who
➢➢ Use legal counsel correctly. As the Rutgers situlost their jobs as a result of their outrageous mistakes
ation illustrates, legal counsels don’t always make the
walked out the door with large sums of money.
right decisions, especially when the correct pathway is
One of the top priorities of the current president is
not straightforward. As a senior-level administrator at
to implement a strategic plan. But the lack of a plan
a top-tier university has said, when she deals with the
since 1995 — and the collaborative processes it entails
general counsel, her “focus is on the word ‘counsel.’”
— suggests the existence of an outdated culture at
➢➢ Do the right thing. Always strive to have a
the administrative and governing board levels. It’s a
common-sense perspective. Decisions should take
culture ill prepared to respond to the Rice situation.
into account the best interests and needs of the stuThis also makes me wonder about Rutgers’ status
dents directly involved and those potentially affected,
under the Middle States Commission on Higher Eduas well as the interests of the campus community
cation’s “Standard 7, Institutional Assessment” that
generally and the institution’s interests, mission,
requires “implementing strategies to achieve [clearly
values, reputation and safety. ■
articulated institutional and unit-level] goals.”
The multitude of mistakes, questionable follow-up
Editor’s update: The problems at Rutgers have conactions and excuses at Rutgers are symptomatic of
tinued. Former students coached by Julie Hermann,
one of the most pervasive leadership tragedies in
the new athletic director, have accused her of mental
higher education today. It seems as if it is all about
cruelty. She was also sued for discrimination.The case
them and not the students.
is pending before the Kentucky Supreme Court. ■
To avoid such mistakes and perceptions at your
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
Vol. 14, Iss. 11
DOI: 10.1002/dap
4
Cover Story: The Advisory Board Speaks
Dean & Provost
Create a good process to make assessment effective
Most deans and provosts accept that assessment
is an inevitable and time-consuming part of their
work. Expectations for assessment from accrediting
agencies are high. In fact, it might sometimes seem
as if you’re asked for so many reports by institutional and program accreditors that you don’t have
time to make sure the results are used to improve
student experiences.
Four members of Dean & Provost’s advisory board
participated in a conference call to share their best
strategies for making assessment not only manageable but also useful.
“We are definitely better as a result of assessment and the continuous improvement philosophy,” said Jill Murray, executive vice president
and chief academic officer at Lackawanna College
in Pennsylvania.
Process raises challenges
There’s no question that assessment is time-consuming. And in divisions with
numerous program-specific
accreditations, it can require
constant effort.
For example, the University
of Florida’s College of Fine Arts
has regional, statewide and
program accreditations. Most
of the requested reports ask for
a lot of the same information
but in slightly different formats. That makes it impossible
Lucinda Lavelli to cut and paste, said Dean
Lucinda Lavelli.
Officials have hardly finished one process when
they need to jump into the next one, which doesn’t
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July 2013
DOI: 10.1002/dap
leave time to put improvements into place, Lavelli said.
There are “so many pieces and moving parts” of
accreditation, Murray said. But the real challenge
is “not just moving and doing it but what you do
with it,” she added.
Assessment is an unfunded mandate, said Herman Berliner, provost and senior vice president for
academic affairs at Hofstra University. But putting
the money and time into doing it well so that your
institution gets a clean accreditation report is a lot
easier than correcting deficiencies, he said.
Organization is key
Effective assessment relies on having a good process
in place. At Hofstra, an associate provost for assessment and accreditation oversees a faculty-driven process,
Berliner said. Because there
are vast differences among disciplines, the faculty can choose
how they want to perform assessment, but participating is
not optional. Hofstra’s record of
Middle States accreditation visits with no follow-up involved
are a persuasive argument for
its importance.
At UF, two institutionwide
jill murray
assessment offices produce
several reports every day, Lavelli said. Within her
unit, the associate deans, program directors and faculty all have responsibility for assessment activities.
Connecting assessment with other campus efforts
and time lines ensures that it occurs on a continuous basis. For example, strategic plans can help
structure institutional assessment. Lackawanna’s
includes facilities, and Middle States looks carefully
at how those are assessed, Murray said.
Officials at Lackawanna review progress toward
their three-year plan on a quarterly and yearly basis.
Administrators use it to evaluate space needs, classroom technology and athletics. Officials can review
assessment results from academic and nonacademic
areas to determine the best ways to balance spending among the areas, Murray said.
At Lackawanna, departmental plans link with
and support the institutional plan. “Assessment
is embedded into each departmental plan, and the
implementation of each departmental objective or
strategy is measured,” Murray said.
Since the plans were implemented in 2011, 68
percent of all the strategies and objectives identified
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
Dean & Provost
5
Cover Story: The Advisory Board Speaks
in departmental plans were achieved, 4 percent were
not yet achieved due to budget constraints, and 28
percent were not yet achieved for reasons unrelated
to the budget but are in process, Murray said.
In June, the entire community was invited to a two-day
summit to review departmental plans and discuss progress
to date.
Hofstra’s five-year plan
helps officials set priorities.
During the recession, they
couldn’t do everything in the
plan, but regular assessment
herman berliner provided them with a format
for determining priorities.
At UF, the plan also helps set priorities with aging
facilities. Since a significant amount of maintenance
is deferred, sometimes Occupational Safety and
Health Administration regulations determine what
will be done, Lavelli said.
Complete loop for continual improvement
Assessment for its own sake is a waste of time.
But the real goal is to use what you learn to make
improvements. For example, assessing the general
education curriculum at Hofstra convinced faculty
members that it did not include enough focus on
oral communications skills, Berliner said. They
made changes to gen ed, plus each major added a
course that included a significant oral communications requirement.
Also, the Psychology Department administered
a standardized test to majors to identify areas they
knew well and those they did not. Then they revised
the curriculum to address the
deficiencies.
Assessment results are
also useful for advocating for
resources such as new faculty
lines, Lavelli said.
At the Texas Tech University School of Law, officials
administer standardized tests
such as the Law School Survey of Student Engagement to
benchmark students’ experidarby dickerson ences against those of peers at
other law schools, said Dean
Darby Dickerson.
Programs to address problems are offered in ways
that appeal to law students. For example, a program
about drinking might focus on how students can
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
represent their future clients, but it could also cover how
an attorney’s conduct could put his licensing at risk.
Good data is essential
Ensuring data integrity in the accreditation
process is a challenge,
Murray said. LackawaWant to think
nna is a small college,
so officials have the
about context?
luxury of mining data
To think about how the
in different ways to trend toward increasing
compare the results for assessment ties into other
accuracy.
developments, Lucinda
Also, multiple indi- Lavelli, dean of the School of
viduals work with the Fine Arts at the University of
data so that checks on Florida, recommends Seeits validity can be made ing Like a State: How Ceron a continual basis.
tain Schemes to Improve
At Hofstra, the insti- the Human Condition Have
tutional research vice Failed by James C. Scott. ■
president checks data
integrity, Berliner said.
The two people who have held that position have been
an accounting professor and a math professor who
understood data well. Both prepared templates for
faculty members to input data so that the professors
could enter it in a consistent format.
For law schools, institutions altering data reported
to groups such as U.S. News & World Report has
been a big problem and has resulted in poor press
for several major schools, Dickerson said.
Plus, law schools must report career and salary
data for graduates. At Texas Tech, officials start
with forms completed by students. They review the
results carefully to make sure they are accurate
before releasing a report. ■
The Bottom Line …
To ensure effective assessment, make sure your
institution implements these strategies:
➢➢ Engage stakeholders. Faculty will be more
enthusiastic if they are driving the process. And widespread involvement makes it possible to complete
the large amount of work required.
➢➢ Ensure data integrity. The results you get
when you analyze data are only as good as the data
you start with.
➢➢ Organize your process. Assessment efforts
need to be completed on a time line.
➢➢ Use results for improvement. There’s no point
to assessment if the findings aren’t put to work. ■
Vol. 14, Iss. 11
DOI: 10.1002/dap
6
Community Colleges
Dean & Provost
Adopt online model based on traditional education theory
By Carlie I. Nicastro
There is no dispute that one of the greatest benefits
their content knowledge rather than on mastering
of distance education is its convenience to students.
technology. Faculty supports include:
However, the idea of convenience can be synonymous
• A four-week initial training.
with lesser quality. Think fast food and buses com• A manual particular to online faculty.
pared with a chef-prepared meal and a car service.
• A requirements quick-guide checklist for help
Distance education has historically struggled with
building the course.
this stigma of inferiority. On the other hand, distance
• Continual screen-capture updates on how to
education is born of technology — and
use new learning system features.
with capabilities such as the addition of
• A FALCONS-specific manual with
About the author description,
real-time and video communication and
rationale and resources for
Carlie I. Nicastro is di- each item on each menu.
virtual simulations, it has the potential
rector and chair of distance
to overcome the stigma.
At most colleges and universities, education at Lackawanna
Teacher/student interaction
the online programs are built with a College in Pennsylvania.
The course home page provides a space
marriage of these two concepts — con- Contact her at NicastroC@ for class messages that the professor must
venience and quality — in mind. But lackawanna.edu. ■
update at least weekly.
Lackawanna College in Pennsylvania
has ensured this connection with a very traditional
approach: that of foundational educational theory.
The FALCONS model, so named for the school
mascot and an acronym for its goal, For Achieving
Learner Centered ONline Success, is a teaching
and learning resource centered around three types
of activities: teacher/student interaction, student/
student interaction, and diverse, active assessments.
The model includes menus of best-practice teaching strategies that foster students’ deeper connection
with the course materials through application of the
foundational theories (see box, p. 7).
Faculty members must choose no less than one
item from each of the three FALCONS menus to
construct the activities for each week of their online
courses. Because many postsecondary professors
are experts in their field rather than in educational
pedagogy and are uncertain about translating their
traditional courses to the online environment, this
is the first step in ensuring quality.
To ensure convenience, FALCONS addresses students’ complaints that initial online course offerings
were inconsistent. Course evaluations revealed that
students found professors’ varied location of course
materials to be akin to embarking on a treasure hunt
without a map. So all online courses are organized
in the exact same format, again with the three FALCONS activities in mind.
This consistency, combined with in-course video
tutorials and several introductory workshops, empowers students to focus on course content exclusively — as navigation, general expectations and
resources are a constant. The process is also convenient for faculty, who can concentrate on conveying
July 2013
DOI: 10.1002/dap
The discussion forum contains required categories consisting of introductions to connect faculty and students on a level outside class
content alone; general questions, to be answered by
faculty within 24 hours; a weekly to-do list providing
a bullet-point summary of all tasks to be completed
by students; and the discussions themselves, to
which faculty are required to respond at least as
much as the students themselves.
The FALCONS Teacher/Student Menu suggestions include:
• Voice-over and interactive PowerPoint.
• Video lecture or podcast.
• Simulation.
• Case studies.
• Student-generated content.
Not only are the items best-practice-based, but
they also take into consideration students’ multiple
learning styles, of particular benefit to the 75 percent of Lackawanna’s student population who test
as having developmental needs.
Student/student interaction
The second menu, student/student interaction, also
considers multiple learning styles, with assignments
from this menu earning students’ highest satisfaction
ratings and the most successful academic outcomes.
The FALCONS Student/Student Menu suggestions include:
• Team projects.
• Discussion debate teams.
• Discussion question and interaction.
• Jigsaw.
• Role playing.
• Peer editing and review.
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
Dean & Provost
7
Community Colleges
Diverse, active assessments
To ensure that course objectives and assessments
correspond in a way that is both meaningful and obvious to students and informative to faculty, diverse,
active assessments are required weekly. And grades
must be posted no later than the following week so
that students may monitor their own progress and
take advantage of the many support services the
college offers if need be.
The FALCONS Diverse, Active Assessments Menu
suggestions include:
• Journaling.
• Presentations.
• Blogging.
• Essays.
• Quizzes.
• KWL (Know, Want to Know, and Learned) charts.
The menu’s diversity enables all students to demonstrate their strengths and fosters their use of higherlevel thinking skills such as application, analysis and
synthesis. That means students can demonstrate and
remember course content more effectively.
While the strategies already discussed comprise the
FALCONS menu, they are by no means exhaustive.
Faculty are equipped with a guide of more than 100
additional strategies to choose from to supplement
the main menus in meeting their course objectives.
But FALCONS is not prescriptive. Faculty are
encouraged to express their academic freedom in
choosing what and how they teach.
The structure and guidance of FALCONS is
simply a matter of ensuring the quality for online
classrooms the same way that materials such as a
writing surface and proper lighting would be needed
in traditional classrooms.
Since the FALCONS model was implemented,
retention and completion for the college’s distance education program have increased. And
some professors have reassessed their strategies
for on-ground courses to incorporate menu items
into their teaching and to use the online learning
system as a more frequent support in the traditional courses.
FALCONS also provides a standard for assessing online courses, enabling Lackawanna College’s
administrators to pinpoint program weaknesses
more effectively and ensure that convenience and
quality are always key considerations. ■
Understand educational theories behind online course structure
The structure of For Achieving Learner Centered
ONline Success, the model for Lackawanna College’s
innovative online courses, is based on traditional educational theories, including:
➢➢ Behaviorism. Learning takes place by connecting
a stimulus and response.According to Edward Thorndike,
learning requires both practice and rewards (Educational
Psychology: The Psychology of Learning, 1913).
With FALCONS, students realize that success can
be attained by using standard course features, such as
the Weekly To-Do List.
➢➢ Constructivism. Knowledge is constructed
based on an individual’s own understanding and experiences of the world around them.
Lev Vygotsky’s theory of social development (Mind
in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological
Processes, 1978) notes that a critical component of this
knowledge building is social interaction, which precedes
consciousness and cognition.
Jerome Bruner (On Knowing: Essays for the Left
Hand, 1962) interpreted constructivist theory through
discovery learning, an inquiry-based theory that places
learners in problem-solving situations that encourage
them to interact with their environment to discover facts
and relationships for themselves.
FALCONS menus help professors guide students
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
to collaboratively construct understanding of the material — not just distribute facts. For example, through
Jigsaw, students work together to understand material
comprehensively by combining several perspectives.
➢➢ Progressivism. People learn best from what they
consider most relevant to their lives. John Dewey’s interactive processes and experiential education theories
emphasize learning by doing (Experience and Education, 2007). Projects, problem solving, group work, and
highly personalized assessments that foster lifelong
learning prevail.
FALCONS menus create many opportunities for students to express their knowledge through relevant work.
➢➢ Andragogy. Malcolm Knowles’ theory of informal
adult education notes that self-directed people who
take initiative to learn, learn more and learn better than
those waiting to be taught. They also retain and make
use of what they learn better and longer (Informal Adult
Education, 1950).
The FALCONS model’s focus on active learning,
diverse and active assessment, and connecting learners to one another demonstrates a continual thread of
consideration for andragogy. For instance, rather than
taking tests, students may construct a marketing plan,
lesson plan, or original work of writing that they could
immediately use on the job. ■
Vol. 14, Iss. 11
DOI: 10.1002/dap
8
Dean & Provost
Policies & Procedures
Provide a safe place for students to store firearms
if weapons are allowed on campus
The firearms-on-campus debate has divided lawmakers and college officials alike. But even when
guns are lawfully carried, seeing them makes many
people nervous. With recent campus shootings still
in the public’s minds, it’s no wonder.
To address those fears, the University of Colorado
Boulder had a gun ban in place until spring 2012,
when the state’s Supreme Court overturned it.
Now officials must allow students and others with
concealed-carry permits to bring their guns onto
campus if they so choose.
Some students feel the need to carry guns for personal protection. And as more adults enroll in college,
some of those carrying firearms onto campus may need
them for work. Going home to drop off their weapons
before going to campus may simply not be feasible.
So what can campus safety officials do when
students’ gun rights clash with the rights of others
to feel safe on your campus?
Even if students have the right to bring a firearm to
class, they may be willing to store it, simply because
it makes others uncomfortable, noted Anthony Martinesi, the director of public safety at Wagner College.
“I would suggest to students that their weapons
be placed in a lock box in the public safety office
while they are attending class,” Martinesi said. “Of
course, I would explain how it [a gun] makes other
students and faculty nervous.”
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4 EASY WAYS TO ORdER
The following tips may help to respect the rights
of students who lawfully bring their weapons on
campus while addressing the fear of guns that many
individuals have:
➢➢ Educate faculty and staff members about
state gun laws and related institutional policies.
That way, if guns are allowed on campus, they won’t
freak out if they see a student who is lawfully carrying one. And if guns are not allowed, they know
to report the situation.
➢➢ Empower faculty and staff to talk to students about guns. The sight of firearms can make
some people nervous and can be a major classroom
distraction. Instructors should be able to talk to
students with weapons about that and respectfully
ask that they not bring guns to class.
➢➢ Provide safe storage for students who choose
to lawfully carry firearms. Tell students they can
drop off their firearms on their way to class and pick
them up promptly afterward. ■
CONTACT US
Editor Joan Hope, Ph.D.
Phone: (561) 748-5094
Email: jhope@wiley.com
Fax: (561) 748-5094
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July 2013
DOI: 10.1002/dap
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Dean & Provost
Lawsuits & Rulings
AT A GLANCE
A Review of This Month’s Lawsuits and Rulings
Faculty
• Discrimination based on disability was not a
factor in firing a professor ..................................... 9
Academic Affairs
• A Ph.D. student who did not enroll in classes
should have realized he might be dismissed ...... 10
Free Speech
• A dismissed student had the right to publicly
demonstrate ........................................................ 11
Disability
• Review a roundup of recent disability-related
court cases ......................................................... 11
faculty
Court rules professor’s dismissal
not due to disability
Case name: Francis v. Lehigh University, No. 10CV-4300 (E.D. Pa. 03/01/13).
Ruling: The U.S. District Court for the Northern
District of Pennsylvania dismissed the plaintiff’s suit
claiming he was treated less favorably than other
professors who had been in similar circumstances.
What it means: To support a disability discrimination complaint based on different treatment, the
plaintiff must identify another employee in a similar
situation who was treated more favorably. Also, the
court will consider the alleged incident on which
the dismissal was based only if it was used to cover
discrimination.
Summary: In 2001, Drew Francis — a tenured
associate professor at Lehigh University — suffered
disabling injuries.
In December 2008, the university began an investigation after receiving complaints that he might be
having sexual relationships with female students. In
April 2009, Francis told the department chair that
he would require surgery.
In May, the investigators reported that Francis
had engaged in graphic sexual discussions with one
of his female students and had sex with another of
his female students. They also reported that Francis
had lied to them during the investigation.
In November, Francis filed charges with the Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission, claiming that
nondisabled employees who violated university policy
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
9
were required only to sign an agreement indicating
they would not violate the policy again.
In February 2010, Francis admitted at his evidentiary hearing that he had engaged in sexually
explicit exchanges with one of his female students.
Francis also said that he and another one of his
female students had a sexual relationship.
The faculty personnel committee decided that
Francis violated the university’s policy and also lied
to the investigators.
In May, Lehigh revoked his tenure and terminated
him.
Francis then sued the uni- LAWSUITS &
versity, alleging violations of the RULINGS
Americans with Disabilities Act. This regular feature
Lehigh filed a motion for summarizes recent
summary judgment.
court or agency
Francis argued that Lehigh’s records of interstated reason for termination est to academic
was false for several reasons.
administrators.
He first asserted that several
employees had engaged in comparable conduct but
had received either a lesser form of discipline or none
at all. One of his examples was a professor who inappropriately touched a female student. That employee
received some sanctions but was not terminated.
However, District Judge Petrese Tucker did not find
that situation similar because it involved only one
event, while Francis was disciplined for ongoing
relationships and lying to investigators.
Francis also said that he saw one professor kiss
and provocatively touch a student, and that another
had cohabited with a student. But the judge said that
no sexual harassment complaint was filed against
either of those two employees, and there were no
allegations that they had lied to investigators.
Francis alternatively argued that the timing was
suspicious, noting his April 2009 discussion with
the chair about his disability and the investigators’
report a couple of weeks later. But the judge observed
that the internal investigation began well before his
discussion with the chair and also said that there
was nothing to show that the investigators were even
aware of his disability.
He next contended that Lehigh replaced him with
a nondisabled employee. But Judge Tucker said that
alone was insufficient.
Finally, Francis argued that the females consented
to his conduct, and he therefore did not harass
anyone. But the judge said it was irrelevant whether
those who made the decision to terminate Francis
were mistaken because the issue was whether they
had acted with a discriminatory intent. He granted
summary judgment in favor of Lehigh. ■
Vol. 14, Iss. 11
DOI: 10.1002/dap
10
Dean & Provost
Lawsuits & Rulings
Academic affairs
Nonreceipt of notice is insufficient to support due process violation
Case name: Jeandron v. Bd. of Regents of the
University System of Maryland, et al., No. 12-1724
(4th Cir. 02/14/13).
Ruling: The U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals
affirmed the judgment for the defendant, holding
that it had properly dismissed the plaintiff from its
doctoral program.
What it means: A university complies with due
process requirements by sending notice of its intention to dismiss a student to the student’s last known
address. Also, courts may assume that a reasonably
alert Ph.D. candidate would be on notice that he was in
jeopardy for skipping a term without permission if the
university has a continuous registration requirement.
Summary: Gerald Jeandron was a blind graduate
student at the University of Maryland.
In 2007, the university paid him $250,000 to
settle his claim that it had violated the Americans
with Disabilities Act. The settlement specified that
Jeandron was still subject to all the rules and
procedures of the University of Maryland System,
including those pertaining to satisfactory progress
toward his degree. In that regard, the university had
a requirement that graduate students must register
for continuing courses in the fall and spring.
In December 2007, the graduate director sent
Jeandron a letter advising him that his progress was
unsatisfactory and that if he continued to perform
below the standard, he would be dismissed. The
letter concluded that if there was no response, he
would be dismissed.
On Jan. 8, 2008, the director sent a certified letter
to Jeandron, informing him that he was terminated
at the close of the fall 2007 semester. However, the
confirmation receipt was signed by someone else.
On Feb. 1, the assistant dean also sent a letter
to Jeandron stating that he had been terminated.
Jeandron did not attempt to register for the spring
2008 term, but in September, he was not allowed
to register for the fall term. The graduate director
emailed him to inform him of the previous dismissal.
In September 2011, Jeandron filed suit against
the university and others.
The defendants filed a motion for summary judgment, arguing that Jeandron had waited more than
three years to file suit.
Jeandron responded that the first notification that
he received concerning the subject of dismissal was
the email sent in September 2008.
The trial judge granted summary judgment for
the defendants.
On appeal, Jeandron claimed that summary judgment was improper because there was a dispute
concerning whether he had received the 2007 and
2008 letters.
In an unpublished opinion, the court said that
Maryland’s three-year statute was applicable.
It approved of the trial judge’s reasoning that Jeandron should have known that he was in jeopardy
for skipping a term without permission because of
the continuous registration requirement. The panel
also said that Jeandron would have been on notice
long before the email that he was terminated if he had
even attempted to register for the spring 2008 term.
The court ruled he should have filed suit sooner
and affirmed the trial judge’s decision. ■
Dean & Provost Board of Advisors
• Benjamin Akande
Dean, George Herbert Walker
School of Business & Technology
Webster University
• Herman Berliner
Provost and Senior Vice President
for Academic Affairs
Hofstra University
• Marsha Kelliher
Dean, School of Management
& Business
St. Edward’s University
July 2013
DOI: 10.1002/dap
• Darby Dickerson
Dean, School of Law
Texas Tech University
• Lucinda Lavelli
Dean, College of Fine Arts
University of Florida
• Jill Murray
Executive VP and Chief Academic Officer
Lackawanna College
• Cynthia B. Worthen
Vice President for Academic Affairs
Argosy University
• Barbara Gaba
Provost, Elizabeth Campus
& Associate Vice President
for Academic Affairs
Union County College
• William Fitzgibbon
Dean, College of Technology
University of Houston
• Maria Vallejo
Campus Provost
Lake Worth Campus
Palm Beach State College
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
Dean & Provost
free speech
University must allow student’s protest
of public-interest issue
Case name: Board of Regents - UW System v.
Decker, No. 2011AP2902 (Wis. Ct. App. 01/24/13).
Ruling: Wisconsin’s appeals court overturned
the trial court’s injunction that prohibited a former
student from protesting the collection and use of
certain fees by the University of Wisconsin System.
What it means: Public universities may be subject to suit if they impose restraints on individuals
because they are protesting — by conduct or speech
— a matter of public interest.
Summary: Jeffrey Decker was a former student
at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point who
believed that segregated student fees charged by the
university and its usage of those fees was illegal. He
engaged in public protest activities relating to those issues, including the dissemination of written materials.
In October 2011, the board of regents filed a petition for a temporary restraining order and harassment injunction against him.
After a hearing, the judge found that: Decker was
present on UW campuses on several occasions without consent, contrary to the terms of a suspension
that required he have written consent of the chief
campus administrator; he had been disruptive and
profane at three meetings of the board of regents; and
when law enforcement officers attempted to remove
him, Decker resisted by going limp and hooking his
feet on chairs.
The judge concluded that Decker had intentionally engaged in conduct that harassed the board
of regents for no lawful or legitimate purpose. He
ordered that Decker avoid any harassment of the
board; avoid any premises temporarily occupied by
the board; and refrain from contacting the board
unless it consented in writing. The judge also prohibited him from possessing any firearms during
the pendency of the injunction.
On appeal, Decker argued that the judge had erroneously found that his conduct lacked a legitimate
purpose.
In an unpublished opinion, the appellate court said
that both Decker’s conduct and his presence at the
meetings appeared to be related to his public protest
of the fee issues and also a protest of actions that the
university’s administrators had taken toward him.
The U.S. Constitution guarantees a person’s right
to publicly demonstrate, protest and persuade others as to the rightfulness of his or her viewpoint, the
panel said. It reversed the harassment injunction. ■
© 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc., A Wiley Company
All rights reserved
11
Lawsuits & Rulings
Disability
court cases
Review these recent legal rulings to ensure that
your institution is in compliance with disability laws.
■■ Cordova v. University of Notre Dame du Lac, No.
3:12-CV-153 (N.D. Ind. 03/29/13). The U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Indiana dismissed
as untimely Amber Cordova’s claims under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The court ruled the statute
of limitations began to run when she was dismissed
from the institution — not when the provost denied
her appeal regarding the dismissal.
■■ Doe v. St. Louis University School of Medicine,
No. 12CV905SNLJ (E.D. Mo. 03/28/13). The U.S.
District Court for the Eastern District dismissed the
plaintiff’s claim that the university’s failure to re-enroll
him violated his right to reasonable accommodations
under the Americans with Disabilities Act. He wanted
to re-enroll without taking classes so that he could
continue attempting to pass a third-party exam.
■■ Johnson v. Louisiana State University Health Science Center, Health Care Services Division, et al.,
No. 3:09-0691 (W.D. La. 03/20/13).The judge granted
the institution summary judgment, ruling that Carolyn
Johnson was not terminated because of a perceived
disability. He said that she was fired because she
failed to communicate with her employer, return
forms, provide documentation of her restrictions,
and provide a valid excuse for not complying. ■
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Vol. 14, Iss. 11
DOI: 10.1002/dap
12
Focus
on
Dean & Provost
Leadership
Joyce Blackwell, provost, Bennett College
Share leadership skills, experience with peers, future leaders
For Joyce Blackwell, provost at Bennett College
in North Carolina, leadership means sharing her
knowledge and experience. She helps her peers at
other institutions and promising administrators
and faculty members at her
own college achieve career
success.
Blackwell is president of
the Association of Chief Academic Officers of the Southern States. That organization
brings together chief academic officers from institutions
in 11 states that belong to
the Southern Association of
Colleges and Schools and in
Latin America. It has about
Joyce Blackwell 800 members.
With presidents and chief academic officers retiring at a high rate, many CAOs are new to their jobs.
The organization can help them prepare to be more
successful, Blackwell said. Issues such as retention,
graduation rates, developing curricula and academic
program review are common to all institutions.
And CAOs need to understand how to deal with
numerous nonacademic issues, Blackwell said.
For example, they must be able to address faculty
concerns and work with unions.
The organization hosts a meeting each December.
Blackwell is surveying members about what issues
they’d like to see addressed by conference sessions
at the upcoming meeting.
She’s also hosting a small meeting on her campus
in October. She expects about 200 to 250 attendees.
It will include sessions such as one on moving from
the provost to presidency.
But besides working with leaders at other institutions, Blackwell helps develop leaders on her own
campus — both students and rising administrators.
For example, she travelled to Ghana with a group
of students who were interested in leadership or
were student leaders. They met with student leaders
in that country. And the college’s honors students
participate in a series of workshops on leadership.
Officials are expanding that program to include all
students, Blackwell said.
Also, Blackwell feels a responsibility to mentor
women who want to become department chairs,
deans, provosts and other administrators. She had
mentors who pointed out opportunities to her and
told her they were nominating her for the positions,
July 2013
DOI: 10.1002/dap
and she now does that for others.
She shares information about leadership programs
with promising administrators and faculty members
and helps them connect with people in the leadership
positions that interest them. For example, she might
suggest they shadow a particular successful leader.
And when Blackwell identifies an individual whom
she thinks could be successful as a leader, she discusses her observations with that person. “I think
you may some day end up as dean of that division,”
she might say.
Numerous professionals — male and female —
have asked Blackwell to mentor them. She meets
regularly with them to help them plan for their goals.
You may email Joyce Blackwell at jblackwell@
bennett.edu. ■
Collaborate to enhance opportunities
for your students
Besides helping leaders develop new skills,
an organization such as the Association of
Chief Academic Officers of the Southern States
gives academic administrators an opportunity
to collaborate, said Joyce Blackwell, president.
“It’s critical in a world that’s becoming so
much smaller — really truly smaller — to provide
opportunities beyond our own space,” she said.
Blackwell has formed a number of collaborations at Bennett College, where she is provost,
and other institutions where she served as chief
academic officer.
For example, when she arrived at Bennett
in July 2012, the institution did not have any
two-plus-two arrangements with community
colleges. Officials recently completed their first
such agreement to enroll students who completed associate degrees.
Bennett also has a new partnership with
Syracuse University to grant scholarships for
master’s degrees in business to Bennett graduates who are admitted.
Plus, Blackwell has been negotiating an
articulation agreement between Bennett and
an institution in Ghana. Globalization is one
of the four pillars of Bennett’s strategic plan,
Blackwell said. Currently, about 7 percent of
students study abroad, and officials want to
increase the number. ■
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